ISSUE
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THE HUCKLE BUCKLE BOYS PAT SANDMAN ERIC PAPENFUSE CARRIE WISSLER-THOMAS YMCA JESUS MARTINEZ METROPOLIS GALLERY MIKE FITZGERALD LITTLE BROTHER COMPLEX 2ND CITY CHURCH UNAPPRECIATED MUSIC SCENE
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A L E T T E R F R O M T H E A RT D I R E C TO R
A BIG BIG THANK YOU !
ДОРОГІ Д Р УЗІ! Я кщо вже бути зо в с і м в і д в е р т и м и , т о н аш
DE AR F RIE NDS! I w a n t t o b e q u i t e h o n e s t w i t h y o u f r o m t he
ж урнал Only Ha rri s b urg не т і ль к и п р о к уль ту р у
b e g i n n i n g . ON L Y H ARR IS BU R G i s n o t j u s t a bout
і про мистецтво нашо го м і с т а, хо ча це і
t h e c u l t u r e a n d t h e a r t o f o u r C i t y , e v e n i f it is
дуже важлива час т ин а н ашо го б аче н н я . Н а ш
m o s t i m p o r t a n t p a r t o f o u r m i s s i o n . Ou r ma ga zine
ж урнал та ко ж яв ля є с о б о ю е к с п е р и м е н т вза ємо відно син м і ж аб с о лю т но р і зн и м и л юд ьм и і, звичай н о , ї х с о ю зу в р ам к ах о д но г о п ро екту. Ма йже щ о д ня м и о т р и м уєм о в і д ва с л исти, імеіли, ст ат т і , д и зай н е р с ь к і р о б о т и, п рес-релізи, де в и д і лит е с я с в о ї м и і д е я м и, ч и ї ви х о чете до нест и , зр о б ит и ї х в и д им и м и д л я
i s e x p e r i m e n t b e t w e e n u s , s o d i f f e r e n t p e ople a n d t h e i r a b i l i t y t o s h a r e o n e v i s i o n , b u t t hrough t h e c o m m u n i t y w o r k . Al m o s t e v e r y d a y w e receive f r o m y o u t h e e m a i l s , a r t i c l e s , d e s i g n w o r k , press r e l e a s e s , y o u r o p i n i o n s . Yo u s h a r e y o u r p a ssion w i t h u s a n d w e k n o w t h a t y o u w a n t s h a r e your
інших люд ей і, зв и чай н о , о т р и м ат и в изн ан н я ,
i d e a s , y o u r s t o r i e s , y o u r p a i n a n d m a k e i t visible
т ом у що це дуже в ажлив о д ля т в о р чо ї лю д и н и .
f o r o t h e r p e o p l e . T h e a r t i s t s , w r i t e r s , t a l e n t ed
Наша ід ея по ляг ає в т о м у, щ о б д о п о м о гт и
people need the recognition because it is
т аким тво рчим лю д я м , і че р е з жур нал м и
i m p o r t a n t f o r t h e i r c r e a t i v i t y a n d i t i n s p i r es rest
з авжди несемо о д не в ажлив е п о в і д о м ле н н я
o f u s t o t a k e a c t i o n t o w a r d s w o n d e r f u l t h i n gs.
- Ц ІНУЄ ТЕ ТЕ, ЩО У В А С Є І С ТА РА ЙТЕС Ь В С Е
Ou r i d e a i s t o h e l p t h e s e c r e a t i v e p e o p l e t hrough
ЗМІНИТИ В КРАЩ У С ТО РО Н У П О ТМ О У ЩО У
t h e m a g a zi n e a n d m a k e o u r c o m m u n i t y a w a re
В А С Є НА ЦЕ ТВОР Ч Е П РА В О . У В А С Є Ш А Н С ВС Е
a b o u t t h e c u l t u r e a n d a r t a r o u n d u s . As t h e
ЗМІНИТИ.
m a g a zi n e , o u r t e a m c a r r y v e r y i m p o r t a n t messa ge - AP P R E C IAT E W H AT YOU H AV E AN D T R Y YO U R
О со бисто від себ е я хо чу т і ль к и д о д ат и - це
BE S T T O C H AN G E IT ; F OR YOU R C OM M U N ITY A ND
спра вжнє благо с ло в е н н я т в о р ит и п р о е к т , як и й
F OR YORS E L F BE C AU S E YOU H AV E T H E R IG HT S
п оба ча ть ба га то лю д е й . М и с п о д і в аєм о с я , щ о ви буд ете щасли в і п о д і лит и с я ци м жур н ало м з і сво їм и друзям и , б лизь к и м и і н ав і т ь
T O D O S O. YOU H AV E A C H AN C E T O C H AN G E E V E R YT H IN G . H OW W ON D E R F U L IT IS !
незна йо мцями, т о м у щ о че р е з це й жур н ал ми по силає м о н ашу лю б о в д о м і с т а, лю д е й і
P e r s o n a l l y , I w a n t t o s a y t h a t i t i s a r e a l b l essing
вза га лі святкуємо жи т т я .
t o c r e a t e a p r o j e c t t h a t w i l l s e e m a n y p e o ple. We h o p e t h a t y o u w o u l d l o v e t o s h a r e t h i s m a g a zine
Щ иро Ва м д яку єм о .
w i t h y o u r f r i e n d s , f a m i l y a n d e v e n s t r a n g e r s, b e c a u s e w e s e n d o u r l o v e t o c i t y , t o p e o p l e, t o life.
L e m s Be l k a | Ar t D i r e c t o r
photo credit Daria Bedrik flickr.com/photos/bedrik
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ONLY HARRISBURG INDEPENDENT MAGAZINE OF THE ARTS
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Huckle Buckle Boys
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Carrie Wissler-Thomas
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Pat Sandman
30
Mechanicsburg's Eccentric Metropolis
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An Interview with June Minaya
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An Interview with Eric Papenfuse
44
Harrisburg YMCA: An Interview with Bill Osbourne
by Shane Davenport
by Jaime Bailey
by Shane Davenport and Lems Belka
by Shane Davenport
by Melina Jones
by Melina Jones
by Jaime Bailey
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Unappreciated Music Scene
52
Little Brother Complex
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2nd City Church
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Mike Fitzgerald - HBGCLIC
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Jesus Martinez
CREDIT: PAT SANDMAN
by Dashiell Glace
by Doug Morrison
by Lems Belka
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by Jaime Bailey
art culture
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ONLY HARRISBURG INDEPENDENT MAGAZINE OF THE ARTS
hu ck le bu WRITTEN BY JAIME BAILEY
HUCKLE BUCKLE BOYS
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ck le b oy s
HUCKLE BUCKLE FACTS inside
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ONLY HARRISBURG INDEPENDENT MAGAZINE OF THE ARTS
As far as first impressions go, Garrick was polite, and as he lead us to the interview space, I couldn’t help but wonder how someone with such manners created the edgy artwork I had seen. Zack arrived and showed us that he wore his wife’s pink “Princess University” socks. He is the personality type that can laugh at and not take himself very seriously. Between the both of them, I couldn’t get enough. The interview started out in a very comical way, and by the look of these two, you would never expect to shift to the profound thoughts heard over the hour and a half that I was there. How did you create the name Huckle Buckle Boys? ZACK: The definition of that is to explain what we are and
how we do it. We decided to collaborate and it became an experiment on how, as an artist, to suppress your ego. Both artists are originally from Pennsylvania. I had to ask what it was like to grow up in the Harrisburg area. GARRICK: As far as the East Coast goes, there’s no place more
interesting than Harrisburg. It’s very rural here. It’s like the joke: ‘What’s between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh? Kentucky!’ ZACK: As far as the East Coast goes, there’s no place more interesting than Harrisburg. It’s very rural here. It’s like the joke: ‘What’s between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh? -Kentucky!’” “I love it here although when I was a kid I always wanted to get out. I had friends who thought that they couldn’t do anything with their life, unless they moved out of this ‘hellhole’ but they had way less then, than they have now. When I grew up, there wasn’t anything downtown. There was a witch store that sold nothing but herbs and crystal dust and stuff. Downtown Harrisburg was literally: a porno theatre, a disco tech and that church that’s still there (which is a great place to skate! Zack recounts stories of a police officer who would chase him because he was skateboarding in the parking lot behind a skate shop. Once he was caught, the officer would take his skateboard and crack it in half. It was an ironic and a good example of the arbitrary punishment that affected the kids those days.
ZACK: It was always a rebellion thing, we always kept that
mentality and we always stuck together. There would be us, which would be the skateboarders or punkers, there would be the jocker guys, the motorheaders, and so on. Back when we were growing up [in the early 90s], it was all separated like that, but nowadays if you are a jock, you also can be an artist. It totally blows my mind because there is no way we’d have that back then. That’s what I love about it now and that’s what I am trying to say, more people are more accepting of others. Derogatory words don’t get used as much anymore. The Huckle Buckle Boys feel the current art scene is progressing farther than it has ever come before. ZACK: This younger generation is proud to be from central PA.
It’s way different now. The young people are more friendly and they accept people more and vice versa. Back in the day, the old people couldn’t stand young people no matter what. It’s cool now, it’s not a bad thing to be from central PA. People are stoked to be from Harrisburg, because it’s a cool place. GARRICK: They have a theory on why Harrisburg is cooler
now than it was back then: “We get good at what we do, with what we have, and when we go to places that have a lot, it’s like: “You guys have this?” Then we kill it, and it doesn’t matter what it is: art, skateboarding, music, carpentry, taxes. Perhaps it’s not that people work so much harder here, but it’s just what we do. We value the feeling of satisfaction when we do
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something and we keep that momentum of going further and further along with what we’re working at. In the spirit of never sketching things out, The Huckle Buckle Boys unplanned shows contain anywhere from 35 to 60 paintings. Their work evokes different emotional responses from the audience, sometimes finding diametrically opposed reactions from the same source. Recently the Boys finished a show at the 1975 Gallery in Rochester New York called “Our Cryptozoological Expedition Into ‘The Elusive.’” They began to tell how they felt towards the forced question and answer sessions that naturally occur, and the how it causes a wave of despondency when others crave a deeper meaning to their art. GARRICK: In the studio we told stories about creatures which
we tried to draw, but when we went there, they wanted a story about it, and all this deep shit, and we were like, that sucks, so we made up a different story every time we talked to somebody new.
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We got a grant from the Smithsonian to travel around the world searching for the most elusive creatures out there and document them. Well they only gave us 600 bucks, so we drank that up the first night and went out camping. Determined to continue our expedition for the Smithsonian, we had to steal the change out of cars, like 25-30 cars, to get enough money to get on the first leg of our journey. Which we never made or have made, it’s up to you to decide.
ZACK: It was all wrapped around that we stole money from
peoples cars to fund our expedition. I asked them about their fan base because I was becoming increasingly intrigued every time I came across their art. I think it was because I always saw their art in the most unexpected places. ZACK: There was a lady in Rochester who loved our stuff so
much that she camped out in front of the gallery, outside the whole day. When the show opened, she ran in and spit loogies on our paintings so that nobody else would touch them, let alone buy them. The gallery called us and they told us “guys this is really weird, and I don’t know how you’re gonna take
this but, somebody spit on your paintings. I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, Bud we’re like, that is so awesome! Somebody spit on our stuff so she could have it, that is so killer! I wish my interview with the HBB had been longer, between the two of them, they built a kind of excitement and enthusiasm over the Harrisburg art scene unlike anything I’ve felt in some time. I was definitely entertained by all the hilarious stories that they had to tell. I left the interview with a very optimistic view of things to come. As for the HBB, I can’t wait to see more!
HUCKLE BUCKLE FACTS GARRICK IS THE SON OF A MINISTER
ZACK OCCASIONALLY WEARS HIS WIFE’S SOCKS
ZACK WAS AN HONORS STUDENT
MAD MADDER MADEST OIL ON CANVAS
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ONLY HARRISBURG INDEPENDENT MAGAZINE OF THE ARTS
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Carrie Wissler Thomas THE ARTIST BEHIND THE BUSINESS OF ART IN TE R V I E W B Y S HANE D AVENPO RT A N D L EM S BEL KA W R IT T E N B Y S HANE D AVENPO R T | PHOT OGRAPHY BY L EMS BEL KA
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ONLY HARRISBURG INDEPENDENT MAGAZINE OF THE ARTS
Lems Belka (our founder and art director) and I woke up early this beautiful November morning to interview a local legend in the Harrisburg art community, Carrie Wissler-Thomas. Entering the Art Association building is always a pleasant experience. The architecture is lovely and the interior always manages to simultaneously be ritzy and understated. It has a Victorian/traditional vibe but with much less business. Carrie descended down the staircase in a business casual blazer and jeans, complete with a chic bob hairstyle and her trademark amber jewelry. Every finger was ringed and she wore a large chunk of amber on her necklace. It was almost talismanic. Definitely a statement piece. We exchanged some light chit-chat and made our way up the stairs into her magnificent office. It was a huge space filled with statues, paintings and other beautiful things. It was a treasure trove of art. Befitting for the president of the city’s most renowned fine art establishment. We expected nothing less. She motioned us to have a seat on the two lush (assuredly antique) leather chairs she had in front of her desk as she made herself comfortable on the throne behind it. I was so excited to start the interview and she was, as well. She had a smile on her face and a glint in her eye, and I could tell she was ready to talk about her life and the thing she has built it upon: art. Not just any art, though. Her own. How did you obtain your current position with the Art Association? Well I was always an artist. I studied at Hood College. When my husband and I moved here, when I was first married, I joined the Art Association so I could show my artwork. I became involved. I took the life classes and met other artists. I also met the board members who, at the time, had teas at their receptions. They were much more conservative than our wine and cheese receptions. Anyway, they asked me to help when they found out I was also a copyrighter. I worked for some radio stations and they asked me to do publicity. They needed publicity for the board, so I did that and then became vice president of the board. I was eventually elected president of the board. For four years I was a volunteer. My close friend, Chuck Schultz, was executive director. He and I
really changed things around a lot . We opened the place up and got volunteer staff. The ladies who ran the place didn’t believe it should be open all the time. They only wanted the “right” people to come in. So we made it much more open, and all artists were welcome. All the general public was welcome. Eventually my friend quit as executive director back in 1986, and I was hired in his place. I’ve been executive director/ president/CEO ever since. It was a perfect fit for me because, in college, I majored in fine arts. I was a painter. I also took art history. I also minored in English and family history. So this historic building is such a perfect place for me to be. I work hard with my board on preserving the beauty and integrity of the building. I was also the main editor of my weekly newspaper in college, so I know how to write too. I’ve handled our publicity and the newsletter content all these many years. I do all our speaking engagements and all our promotions, so it’s a perfect fit for me. It also enables me be with artists. My people. So I’m representing my own people to the business community, which is great. What is you astrological sign? Scorpio. My birthday is on Saturday, actually. I can tell you that I was born on All Hallows Eve at the Mountain Springs Hotel in Ephrata. I was born in a little town. My dad was a doctor and the hospital was housed in the old Mountain Springs hotel. The hotel also was the site of Camp Silver Bells. People did seances there and it was, uh...it was quite an interesting place. That's when I came through. Through the ether. I don't
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know my astrological things [in-depth] but I'm very attuned to anything that's out of the ordinary. I like to conjure people up. I like to think that I can. I talk about people and all of the sudden they appear. I think about someone and then they call. Staying with the spiritual side of things, I have a question about the jewelry you wear. I know it's kind of your trademark. Is there a spiritual component or meaning to it, or is it just decoration? I like amber. I like it because I like the way it looks, and my birthstone is topaz. Born in November. And it's kind of a topaz color. Both my grandmothers were born in November also, so I share that with them. Also, I like the amber because it's very warm. It ties in with my Celtic roots because it's a Baltic area. I'm very, very attuned to the British Isles, and amber was prized by the ancient Celts. It's not like precious stones like diamonds. They come out of the earth and they're so cold. I don't have an affinity for that, nor the money to buy them. The amber, I like. It's very meaningful to me. I remember on your blog that you mentioned you and your husband went to Scotland for a visit and that something there really inspired you. Something stuck with you. What was it about Scotland that just resonated so profoundly? I can tell you that all my life I've been very, very intrigued, and feel very close to Mary, Queen of Scots. She was tragically beheaded back in 1587. But I've always felt very attuned to her. So when we had our 25th anniversary, my husband and I decided we'd treat ourselves to a trip to Scotland, and we went to all the places associated with her. The castle where she was born, Edinburgh castle, all those places. And we fell in love with Scotland. Not only because of Mary Queen of Scots, but also because I've always been enamored with English and Scottish history. Anything to do with Britain. The landscape, the people, the history. We started going every year, and we have. We just came back, in fact, from our trip for this year. But we've explored all of Scotland, from the shetlands and the Orkney Islands to the Hebrides. Outer and inner. We always stay at the Port Charles hotel and we know people in Edinburgh. We know people all over. For the last few years we've been exploring a lot more. It's just fabulous because of
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my abiding love of English history. We went to the Hastings battlefield this year. We saw Anne Boleyn's childhood home and Queen Victoria's holiday palace. There’s just so much history everywhere one looks. It's what I've read about all my life. Just an abiding love. To actually go there is to step back into time. it's a wonderful thing. How have these experiences manifested themselves in your art? All my life, before we started to go to Scotland, I was a figurative painter. I did portraits. I studied with Li Hidley, the late expressionist, and I did lots and lots of nudes from live models. I called them my earth mothers and earth fathers. In college, my senior year honors paper was on lyricism in Minoan art. I've always had a sense of lyricism, of sensuous lines, through all of my work. I don’t do buildings. I don’t do graphic work. I do organic shapes. I used to do a lot of still life’s too, but I primarily love the human figure. We moved to Harrisburg in 1990. I started painting the river because I live a block away from the it. And then we went to Scotland and I fell in love with the landscape there and all it’s undulating, soft rolling hills. It's wonderful. The colors are so beautiful. Even on gray days, of which there are many, the colors are still wonderful. On a bright day you get beautiful greens and blues, so I started doing landscapes of Scotland. I also love animals. Especially shaggy animals. I like painting sheep, cattle, the highland hooves over there. I take lots of photos. I don't paint when I'm over there because my husband is not a painter, and we do a lot of hiking and driving around. We visit distilleries and historic sights and take photos. But I have a wonderful studio on the third floor of our old house up here on North Second street, and I paint there. Especially in the winter on a Saturday, if I'm not working. I can stay up there, spread my photos out and go into a zone. It’s as if I’m back there, on location, except that I don’t have an easel blowing in the wind. It's like I'm actually back in Scotland. My husband says my landscapes of Scotland remind him of my paintings. My nude paintings, and my paintings of clothed ladies with beautiful, flowing gowns. All those sensuous lines and curves. I don't do the castles or abbey's. I do the animals and I do the landscapes. I still do a lot of people, too, as you can see on
"It also enables me be with artists. My people. So I’m representing my own people to the business community, which is great."
my blog, but I don’t do them from life anymore, which is a shame. When I was in Hidley’s group we all worked from our own style. I had models every week, it was wonderful. So now I work from photos, which isn’t as good. It’s fine for the landscapes, but for portraits it's not as good. Do you feel like you miss out on a certain something? Yes I was going to ask you about your time with Hidley, and what that experience like for you. It was wonderful. There were many people. He came to Harrisburg in the mid 60s, and he took this art scene here by storm. Everybody was doing watercolors back then, and it was very boring. When I moved here in ‘72 there were so many watercolors. It was terrible. I did not care for them. But Hidley started teaching for us and painting for the model class. He brought in people from a nudist colony and dancers. Bellydancers and flamenco dancers actually danced for us, and we painted them as they performed. Bodybuilders, too. All types of different people. Both clothed and nudes, and they were wonderful models. Hidley didn’t try to get anybody to paint like him. He was an expressionist and studied in New York. He was highly talented, but he wanted everybody to develop their own style. He would give great critiques, and painting from live models every week was wonderful. The model would have a lot of short poses, and then go into one long pose for the last hour or so. So I’d sketch all of the poses onto canvas and then, during the long pose, would paint them all in. So it looked like I was doing multiple people. It sometimes turned out looking like an orgy. We definitely saw some pieces like that. So that's how it developed then. Yes. That's how it came.
Your art has a very sensitive quality to it. It seems like it deliberately plays with your emotions a bit. Thank you. I think most painters do, unless they're very commercial. They are trying to do something strictly to assignment. But I think most of us have an inspiration and an idea of what we want. But then I just start painting and let things happen. Serendipity. It just happens. Often, when I’m finally finished, I stand back and think ‘did I paint that?’ Almost like an out of body experience? It is. Exactly. When I'm conscious of what I’m doing, it doesn’t work. Just have to get into that zone. In much of your artwork, the proportions seem to be exaggerated. The hips and hands. Even the men have very curvy figures. Is that just an aesthetic or is that like a Divine Mother representation? It is. It’s an interpretation of the life force. It's earth mothers and earth fathers. It's a celebration of life and fertility, and everything that’s good about life. Abundance. My mother once wrote to me, years ago. She wrote “Would you please stop painting nudes? They bother me.” And I said “Mother” I said “These are the most meaningful works that I do!” To me, it's an affirmation of the life force, like from the Neolithic times. It's an affirmation of joy and life. So, no. I'm not going to stop painting nudes. She wasn’t opposed to nudes, she just didn’t like my exaggeration of them. And then my dad was a doctor so he was always complaining that some of the things weren’t in proportion. “Well, daddy, they're not supposed to be.” They wanted me to paint more apples. I love the nudes. I don’t have very many still lifes left. I sold most of those. I did teach our basic painting class for a number of years before I was hired. I taught a lot of private students, so for them I did still lifes because that’s the way to really learn the basics. So I setup still lifes, again,
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with curved fruits and flowing cloths. And I’d do a sketch and the underpainting and show them how to do it. My demonstrations of those were finished paintings. They mostly sold over the years. You saw the blog, though. I don’t do still lifes anymore. I've made many, many, very nice still lifes, but those have all sold. Lots of pumpkins. Before I was working full time I could buy these exotic vegetables and paint them. If I did that now, there would be several weeks between sessions. They'd be rotten. It'd be very interesting, but people are what I like best. Some of your portraits have very defined features and others are more abstract. They may have nothing more than a shadow where the eyes should be. How did that come about? Those were from when I was working with the live models. I was working to get the effect of the whole figure and didn’t want to concentrate on the face. Anyone who does a nude or figure study starting with the face...it’s going be tight. It’s not going to flow, so I just have the faces as a suggestion. I was into classic nudes. I used to turn out two or three in an evening. I do paint fast. More realistic work takes longer. But my house, the whole house is like a gallery. There's more art there than in here. On my living room wall, I call it my “Wall of Ladies”, are all these portraits. Some are trades I got from other artists. I also have interpretations of Klimt painting. I love Gustav Klimt. I have a lot of pastiches. I do interpretations of artists works that I like. In my own style. If you could ascribe a meaning to art, what would it be? To you. It's my life. It's passion. It's an affirmation of beauty and it's...it's my life. Art is everything. Could you describe a moral or philosophical belief that you follow in life? My guiding philosophy is to do the very best I can. To do a good job in my work, and to be kind and helpful to all the people around me. To try and make the world a better place.
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Was there a particular moment that was a pivotal turning point in your life? It was the death of my younger brother. He had a heart condition and had an operation in 1960, when he was ten, and after a few months, he couldn't recover. I was with him just before he died and I felt, at the time, that I had to be very strong and be there for my parents. I had to be both son and daughter for them, and I think that made me a much more responsible person. I felt I had to be. I had to make them proud of me. He was brilliant. He was such a brilliant chap. I miss him every day of my life. And I feel that I have to do a good job because he's not here to....I have to. For his sake. How do you want to be remembered? I would like to be remembered as a strong person who fought for what I believed in, and stood up for what was right, as far as I could tell. Also, somebody who did a good job with helping other artists, and trying to make our community a better place through art. That's how I’d like to remembered. What is your advice for artists who are not apart of art association? What direction should they move towards? What is your opinion of individual artists with no affiliation? Say it's a young artist just starting out from school. They should visit as many galleries as they possibly can and see what other artists are doing in the area. And, of course, I would urge them to join the Art Association because there are opportunities that we can provide, and guidance we give them. But if they prefer not to do that, at least go out and visit all the other galleries. There are many alternative spaces and they can learn a lot from there, but they have to have some way to exhibit. I found it to be great when I was a young artist because it gave me a chance to exhibit my work in an accepted gallery. People could see it and then I got to show in community locations. It got my name and my work out there. So you can apply at other places. I know 3rd in the Burg has not quite
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as many galleries as the Gallery Walk, but if people go to that every month they'll get to see what galleries are showing. Get to know the owners and apply for a show. But they have to learn not only their craft, but also how to market their art. They have to learn how to create a website or put their work on a disc. If not electronically, at least put together a portfolio to be able to show to a gallery. They have to get some guidance so they know how to approach a gallery. You can’t just wait for someone to discover you. You haver to take your work out and show it to people.
There's a lot of excitement going on. 3rd in the Burg is good as an extension, I feel, of what I started with Gallery Walk, which is once a year. And now it's once a month and it's very cool. Everything compliments each other, and I think everybody likes to work together. I know I like to work with all the new places when I started organizing Gallery Walk. Every year I welcomed the new galleries as they were founded. A lot of people let me know their contact info so I could invite them to be part of it.
I believe the Art Association and I are welcoming to all these new efforts and it's an exciting time. We all hope that the Also, any artist who is starting out and is pushy is not wellart scene is great, but we hope that a lot of infrastructure received in the established community. Somebody just coming will be repaired. There's a lot that has to be worked on, and out of art school or self taught, and putting a price of $20,000 we hope that with the Harrisburg Strong plan and a new on a painting...it’s ridiculous. It looks silly. They should do their mayor, that lots of good things are going to happen. Our research. In this area, this is the kind of work that's selling. This administration has worked hard to do things in the city. It's is the pricing on different sizes. They have to be realistic. They always been good to the Art Association. We appreciate have to be confident that their work is good, but not say "my what Steve Reed and Mayor Thompson have done. We enjoy work is the very best." That really turns people off. You have to working with whoever is in office. I feel it’s really important for use some common sense. the arts to be in partnership with city government to make the city a better place. But I feel very good about the art scene in Harrisburg. The Art Association was founded in 1926, so we’ve been around Art is a great leveler. It doesn't matter what your income level for a long time. The Doshi was founded in the early 70s, and is, what your age is, what your background is. Anyone who that showed much more cutting edge things at that time. loves art has something in common with others who love The Art Association was more conservative. But then they art. We can all work together. It doesn't matter how old you were founded, and the Harrisburg Arts Center was founded, are or how experienced you are. It's all an expression of the and then other small galleries started up. But now there are human spirit. more galleries. Smaller, but very nice. Very good, very exciting galleries are out here. And places like Makespace with Liz By the end of the interview, I couldn’t help but feel that we Laribee, that's a great place. had all bonded on some level. I suppose it’s inevitable when you are asking someone’s life story, but there was such a
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"Anyone who loves art has something in common with others who love art. We can all work together. It doesn't matter how old you are or how experienced you are. It's all an expression of the human spirit."
pleasantness about the whole ordeal that was unmistakable. She took us behind a spectacularly enameled screen to reveal even more treasures, and showed us a clipping from a 2002 article written about the art covered walls in her home. She also showed us pictures of her and her husband from the organization’s annual Bal Masque event. She was a Celt in one and invoked the essence of Tatiana, Queen of the Faeries. As representatives of an arts publication, it was nothing short of inspiring to vicariously live through the stories of such a prominent figure. However, what struck me most about her was not the beauty she surrounded herself with, but the spirit she possessed that made her dream come to life. It’s clear to most anyone that meets her that she has great clarity, passion
and strength, but I think it was her potent sense of inner peace that I felt most. In true Scorpio fashion, however, there is always much more than meets the eye. Much, much more. For more information on The Art Association , their upcoming events and the programs they offer, please visit www. artassocofhbg.com. And to her personal artwork, visit her blog at www.carriewt.blogspot.com.
/ t r a / / c i s s k u n i m / dr s n n o i o s i s s e s u r p c x s i e d r / a e t i k u o g a r / s ka n a g i n y a t i n s r e she v i d / / s s e d m n a a g b / c i m e n l e y p t o s n a e p o r u e 22
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E V E R Y M O N D AY & T U E S D AY: K A R A O K E @ H A R R I S B U R G M I DTO W N A RT S C E N T E R
E V E R Y F I R S T F R I D AY: D J M U S I C , S P E C I A L G U E S T E V E R Y S AT U R D AY A N D S U N D AY: G A M E N I G H T S
E V E R Y W E D N S D AY: O P E N M I C W/ M I K E BANKS @ HMAC E V E R Y T H U R S D AY A N D F R I D AY: B A N D S
HAPPY HOURS: FROM 4 TO 7
photo credit Kelly Ann Shuler www.kellyannshuler.com
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There are many places where you can find yourself
s rs
STAGE ON HERR
——SHOULD BE——
ONE OF THEM
HMAC 1110 N 3rd St, Harrisburg, PA 17102 (717) 412-4342
HA R R IS B U R G A R TS . CO M
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I N T E R V I E W / WR ITTEN B Y S HANE DA VENPORT
It was a Thursday evening. 6:30PM. At Stage on Herr, also known as Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center and commonly referred to as HMAC. As usual its walls were covered in edgy one-of-a-kind art pieces. Above the bar is a huge canvas painting of what appears to be a gorgon-like woman making a peace sign, completely nude with her ethereally long hair doubling as the backdrop. On the other side is a painting of John Traynor (owner of HMAC) portrayed as an angel holding a golden apple with a mischievous glint in his eye. Pat Sandman, the creator of these works is who I came to see. Upon arrival I see him sitting at the bar adjacent to one of the aforementioned metal sculptures. As usual, he is already sipping a beer and is dressed in a very casual gray t-shirt and jeans. His leather biker jacket is draped across the barstool. He looks up and smirks at me as we greet. An awesome band by the name of The Dirty Sweet was doing soundcheck so we had to find another spot to take the interview. I ordered a glass of red wine first (priorities, people). We grabbed our drinks and went beyond the smokehole throguh the double doors into HMAC’s future restaurant space. The kitchen was pretty quiet so we made ourselves comfortable and I began the interrogation.
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So, Pat! Let’s start off with something simple. What are you drinking this fine evening? I am currently drinking a Yuengling lager. My drink of choice, however, is a dry martini. The drier the better. I like olives, especially garlic stuffed olives, but I’ve kinda gotten away from the fruit. Kind of a hassle. How drunk are you? On a scale of one to ten...I’m probably about a five. What about you? Just out of curiosity.
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So what inspires your art? Just uh...I mean, you see my stuff. Just stuff that is important to me. Women, of course, but also anything that strikes a chord with me. I think they strike a chord in other people too. I’ve used death...sex and death. But where we come from and where we are going is a recurring thing with me. Cats too. I don’t know how the cats fit into to all that. I love cats. I fuckin love cats. I’m an animal person overall. What about cats do you like?
For instance, you walk in from work and a dog will run up to I’m a 0.5. This is my first one. I just got here but, you know... you panting and jumping all over you, but a cat just doesn’t when in Rome! So, next question. Where are you from and give a fuck. It still loves you, but it has a different way of how long have you lived in Harrisburg? showing it. You’ll be reading a magazine and suddenly there’s this furry fat cat sitting on the magazine and staring you in I have never lived in Harrisburg [city]. I was born and raised your face. in Mechanicsburg and currently live in Lower Allen. Nice thing is I can jump on 15 and be here momentarily. I kinda feel So how did you get started in art, and how did your close to Harrisburg. I’m here a couple times a week hittin up distinctive style develop? HMAC. I work, literally, on the other side of the river. I work in advertising for my day job. A little graphic design. I just started drawing when i was a very young kid. I just drew. And I think that a lot of parents put crayons in front of their kids and they’ll draw the sun with the happy face but, for me, I kept doing it [drawing]. It evolved, I guess. My art style developed because I have training in fine arts. My Bachelors is in visual arts with an emphasis on graphic design. But I also love graphic illustration from guys like Bernie Wrightson and Roy Lichtenstein. Guys who use extremely hard edge colors, and very graphic. That’s how I got away from the impressionist, sorta painterly style, and got more into the hard colors. Just a personal preference. I love comic books. I work from live models, photographs and imagination. I like monumental composition with emphasis on the foreground and a minimal background. I use a base coat of high-quality house paint and the rest is strictly acrylic. What’s your favorite comic book? It’s called Faust. I’m not a comic book guy, though. But I like comic books more as a medium. I like to create characters for stories. Where are the comic books you created? They’re embarrassing. They’re hidden away. Faust is a good one. Tim Vigil is the illustrator. I’ve met him. They only come out with one or two issues a year. The artwork is extremely involved and detailed. I guess it is more like a graphic novel.
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because it is a strong subject matter. And, like I said, where we have come from and where we are going. Death is the end of the line. So I paint a lot of women, skulls, weirdo shit like that because it holds my interest.
If you could sum your work up in one word what would it be? Colorful...that’s good. Obviously, literally. If you look at my stuff it’s over the top color, but stuff that strikes a lot of us personally in a deep way. I had a friend that said “Yeah man. I like your stuff cuz it’s superficial!” He wasn’t trying to be insulting. What you see is what you get. There’s no deeper meaning.” Was he a stoner? Yeah. He is a stoner. He smokes alot, but I love the guy, man! I wasn’t offended because that’s how he interpreted it and it’s totally cool. It’s not like I’m trying to make super deep huge meanings behind my artwork. But it does have a meaning to me, personally. Sex and death, which freaks people out, but it interests me
be plugging the shit out of them. I want to get posters and shit up here. I may have a CD release party here at HMAC too. What do you feel is your biggest passion? Music or art?
What do you want people to take from My biggest passion is definitely music. your artwork? With painting it sometimes feels like I’m There is no right answer. Whatever giving birth, which means there’s some somebody feels. If they have any pain. With music it’s always fun. The passionate feeling at all, I’m happy. I entire process is enjoyable. It’s just fun. prefer them to be happy, too, but if it Never feels like work. I love hearing a evokes any kind of reaction, that’s cool. song come alive in the studio, creating If people look at it and feel apathy, that’s the foundation tracks, everything. On not cool. I want to provoke something. the other hand, I think visually I’m stronger. I think when people hear my I know you do music, as well. What music they’ll say “yeah, it’s cool” or type and how can we hear it? whatever. But I’ve had reactions from people for my visual art for quite awhile. I do electronica. It’s akin to a heavier, Maybe I can get my songs to where my harder Depeche Mode. I have a website. visual stuff is. That’d be awesome. Is Sandman your real last name? Is that just because you’ve had more practice with the visual? Sandman is my real last name. It was given to my German ancestors when Yeah, I’d say so. I started playing guitar they came to America. Immigration at 13, and have been drawing ever since I changed it. can remember. Oh, I see. Ok, now back to the music. You were a badass huh? There’s a music video for a song called Yeah...I was a stoner… “Little Joy”. It’s not particularly upbeat. It’s a melancholy, introspective song. You have a lot of dichotomous Shot here at HMAC. The music has to elements in your artwork. Usually be edited but i’m hoping by the time the blending beautiful women with CD is released (hopefully by Spring) I’ll frightening props or scenery, which is have two or three videos and you’ll be what you referred to as blending sex able to see all of them via Facebook and/ and death. Now in your opinion, on the or my website. They’ll all be out there. I’ll deepest level possible, where do you think that comes from?
"If people look at it and feel apathy, that’s not cool. I want to provoke something."
I was raised in a pretty strong Catholic household. Never abusively strong. My parents were always cool with me and relatively liberal but, I don’t know how familiar you are with Catholicism, there is kind of a weird hangup on guilt and sin. Maybe those things were
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released from me. Maybe being the predominantly right-brained person that I am...I’m left handed too. Yeah. I'm almost exclusively right-brained. When it comes to anything that is even remotely dealing with numbers or precise calculations, I’m kind of retarded. I really am. I live in a left hand world.
On your business card you refer to yourself as an artist, musician and devil. How'd you earn that title?
We notice shit nobody else notices. What mental illness have you been diagnosed with?
How'd you become a fuckin’ devil? Come on. You were raised Catholic. Do you get a sense that you sort of sold your soul to the Devil? Is that where it comes from? You love “Faust”, sex and death. See the connections?
Anxiety. Maybe it was some kind of weirdo release. What attracts us to the things we're into? I don't know, exactly, but I have always been interested in those things and I would assume it has something to do with my upbringing. Catholicism and bizarre, dark concepts. When I first had my original showing here [at HMAC], which was a little over a year ago, I had a painting of a burning church, topless nuns and shit that was pretty sacrilegious. So that would exemplify more what I was just saying. On the other hand, I really love cats. And they sell. How's your love life? My love life is relatively hit or miss. I don't feel like I'm a lonely person so I don't feel compelled to seek it out and force something. On the other hand, I'll probably meet somebody and if something happens, that's awesome too. But i know so many people who just seem to be focused on the act of marriage, itself. Like, it's unnatural for a man to not be with a woman so I'm going to find a woman that's suitable and...it's ridiculous. I’m also probably single because of gastric distress. We all have our crosses to bear but at the end of the day, let it rip! You're a Libra, right? Yes.
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Well the first two are obvious. It’s very tongue-in-cheek. I have a lot of friends on the fringes of society. I just believe in the faith of humanity.
I don't see myself as a dark person. Uh...externally but internally… um… yeah. Well you're right-brained. Every creative person has that deep, dark side. I agree with that. I don't know, man. I mean, for me personally, absolutely. But when you say dark it doesn't necessarily mean I want to hurt people and burn churches down or any stupid shit like that. But I would say the devil thing is… I believe people need to find their own path. And their own personal truths. I think Christianity and other dogmatic philosophies are great. Some people need that structure. But not everybody does. Some people can live strictly on an independent, personal truth sort of journey. And I kind of wish that the people who do embrace traditional religion wouldn't come down on us for not being like them. I don't believe anybody should be bashed. It's unconditional. I think that we could all just get along. That would be wonderful. Live and let live. As a devil, which of the seven deadly sins do you identify with most or rule over?
Well that’s kind of a trick question for me because I don’t see the seven deadly sins as sins. I believe anything in life can be taken to a point where it becomes self-destructive. Pride? What’s that about pride? Sure you can take it to a level that becomes something negative, but who’s not a glutton? Who hasn’t had lust? We live in America. Indulge a bit. I’m being a total glutton now *drinks beer*. You’re talking about seven things that we all encounter, and all very natural and healthy, in moderation. I mean who hasn’t...wrath? Come on. We all get pissed off and we all have moments, you know? But according to the church you must fight against the flesh. Yeah, but we’re made of flesh. Basically the church is asking you to fight what you are. See that’s one thing and without again...I rant. I believe we should be accepted and loved for who and
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what we are versus who and what we should be. Dogma tells you you should be this, this and this. We have these desires and things we want to do, and things we feel. I don’t think we should always fight them. Sure you have to be able to differentiate the healthy and the unhealthy. I just don’t believe in a universal sense of right and wrong for everyone.
city life. Crime rate going up. I see art as a commodity The economy has to be better to facilitate art. My take to art is extremely rudimentary and primitive. It’s very primal. There are a lot of people out there who are much smarter than I am. They might have a more interesting take. I would want something that’s going to push the limits on things. Not anything illegal or totally offensive but to get people to think. A little less craft So as a devil, which sin would you rule store pieces, you know what I’m saying? over? Which resonates the most? If you I would want stuff you see more in a were an overlord in a chamber of Hell major metropolitan area. Let’s raise the from Dante’s Inferno, which one would bar and raise the IQ levels. it be? Who is your favorite Mortal Kombat Probably wrath. But lust, maybe... character? somewhere between lust and wrath. They can go hand-in-hand. Which kind Scorpion! That will never change. “Get of gets us back to sex and death. I know over heeere!” I love Scorpion. I like Ninja you’re probably like, okay, this interview’s Gaiden and Onimusha, too. over! Getting a restraining order! Never What are your goals for the future? call me again. Do you own any cats? Ironically, no, and the reason why is because I’m not home that much. If I ever got cats, I would definitely want two. You know what women think about single men with cats. Oh, I know...I know. But I have a deviated septum. I’m deviated in many ways, from society and my septum. What would you like to see more of in the Harrisburg art scene? If the art scene was some sort of bureaucracy and you were president, what would you implement? More provocative artwork. Artwork that is political… anything. There are lots of cool things happening in the art scene here, mainly inspired by suffering. It’s harder to see than in bigger cities but it exists. Talented musicians. Stressful
My goal is just to be able to make my art for a living. Whether it be music, visual stuff, whatever. If I could do that and not have to work for “the man” and do my own thing for a living, that’d be awesome. Not to be famous. Not to be rich. Just to be able to sustain a comfortable living with my art. That’s it. What do you want to be remembered for when you leave this earth? Somebody that made cool shit, and had cool ideas that people respect 20, 30 years from now, you know. I like many paintings from people that are long gone. Francisco de Goya, I love his work. He was from the 18th century. Spanish painter. His shit will always be cool. His works are timeless to me. His shit was honest and dark. Johnny Cash’s music will be listened to for a long time. His music was dark, real and honest. As long as there are people, they will like him. And I’m not saying I’m anywhere near that level but they’re inspirational to me.
What would you want your tombstone to say? “Here Lies Pat Sandman.” What would make your soul happy to see? Imagine You’re haunting the gravesite. What would make you say “Hey all you dead motherfuckers! That was me!” That’s deep as shit. Maybe “The only times I regret are the times I was too nice.” I love that. That’s from Anton LeVey. I don’t know. I don’t know what I’d put on my gravestone. How about none at all? I just want to be burned and… I don’t care. I don’t need a memorial. Would you rather have your ashes thrown out to sea somewhere? I’d rather have somebody snort my ashes. You know. Pass it on. I would snort Francisco de Goya’s ashes. I would totally do lines of his shit. And on that note we ordered more drinks, got drunk and were made merry. We had already left the kitchen and went back to bask in the unique ambiance that is HMAC about halfway through the interview. One of the bartenders asked to borrow Pat’s muscles to bring some kegs behind the bar. Of course he did it. Two kegs, as a matter of fact. Like a Bo$$. So we just stayed there. It was perfect timing because the soundcheck had just ended, and John Traynor was playing some smooth grooves on the stereo system. You can check out his artwork and upcoming music at www.patsandman.com.
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I’D RATHER HAVE SOMEBODY
SNORT MY ASHES. YOU KNOW. PASS IT ON.
I WOULD SNORT
FRANCISCO DE GOYA’S
ASHES. I WOULD TOTALLY DO LINES OF HIS SHIT.
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MECHANICSBURG'S ECCENTRIC
W RITTEN BY ME LINA JONE S PHOTOGRAPHY BY KELLY ANN SHULER
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There are two types of people in the art world: the artist and the buyer. The artist may be a painter, photographer, musician, sculptor, etc. Their ability, or innate gift, to capture something in their art and expose it to the world is priceless. However, if you are a buyer and are drawn to a particular piece of art for whatever feeling, vibe, or energy it gives you, nothing will stop you from buying it. We are all beautiful, unique creatures who perceive and interpret the world around us differently. This gives us original, subjective feelings and thoughts pertaining to what we are observing. The three-dimensional world that we live in, consisting of intense detail and crazy complexity, allows us to choose what we like. To choose an art piece, that is the question. That amazing feeling when you find something that defines your personality, or suddenly have an unexplained, yet inevitable yearning for, this is what loving art is all about. It’s about that connection you get when you make that drastic consideration to buy. Now, this is all lovely stuff, but what originally, physically connects us to art? Well, many things, but mainly a gallery.
The gallery, often overlooked, is an important aspect of exposure that has the ability to attract even the most casual fan, or the serious buyer. With the intentions of exposing both the art and it’s creators, a gallery experience can be quite entertaining. The idea is to make it the portal into an eclectic, visual dimension of art. It is a gateway, ushering a smooth transition through creativity; stimulating and inspiring minds to think outside the box. It’s essence lies in the ability to introduce different perspectives on life, expressed with creativity and passion. Able to attract, connect, inspire, or potentially sell the art, these are some of the reasons a gallery can be so epic and majestic. This is the gallery. It is Metropolis gallery in Mechanicsburg, PA. “The name speaks for itself.” says Richard, the owner of Metropolis Collective on 17 West Main Street in Mechanicsburg. He got the idea from the classic movie of the same name (of which he is a huge fan). He said, “The idea of this big, massive building in little sleepy Mechanicsburg with a sign that read ‘Metropolis’ would be funny.”
Though humor was the idea behind the name, nothing could have prepared me for such a strong gallery in such a small town.
standard, but the amazing art and effervescent owner made it memorable and exciting. Everything was unique once you entered. It was like stepping into another dimension. The music My royal blue skirt matched the played at concert volume, enhancing eccentric vibe I felt as soon as I walked the scene even further. It was definitely into Metropolis gallery on October’s First my cup of tea. People stood cluttered Friday of 2013. The vibrant colors and in groups, while the loners gazed at the original, weird, yet appealing art left me strikingly odd paintings. The expressions gazing for minutes on end at each piece. on their faces indicated an inner working I made a brief introduction to the owner, to put together the puzzle pieces each warm personality that he is, and was exhibit offered. Every single person welcomed with a gesture encouraging there was having a good time. I enjoyed me to explore and enjoy the show. Fun, myself while gazing at art, chatting, and eclectic music came from a room in the listening to the featured band for back as I helped myself to refreshments, the night, Buzzchopper, until it was my and tried to decide on which side of time to meet the owner, and ask him a the wall I would start. Many people few questions. were already there when I made my appearance around 7:45pm. The event And so it began with general questions. was until 9pm, but people enjoyed Metropolis Collective opened June 1st in camaraderie and continued viewing until 2013. It has been a success ever since, 10pm or so. featuring famous artists such as Paul and Mark Kostabi. Paul was a founding Upon walking in, you were suddenly member of the band White Zombie. surrounded by white walls, paintings, Joseph Arthur, is an acclaimed printer sculptures, and pieces of unique and designer, and then there was Daisy composition that I can’t even give Berkowitz, from Marilyn Manson’s band. a name to. The set up was gallery Also, Zack Rudy, one half of central
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“YO U CA N S E E IT IN A BO O K, B UT IT’ S NOT TH E SAME AS LO OKING AT I T I N P E RS O N BE CAUS E YO U CAN’ T S E E TH E TE X TURE, AND YO U DO N ’ T S M E L L T H E O IL. IT’ S J UST DIFFE RE NT. IN P E R SON, YO U ’ RE A ROUND IT ALL TH E TIME .” PA art duo, Huckle Buckle Boys was in attendance. Entwined together in their zone of art, the two create and experience a collaboration focusing on inner flow, which ends with a unique piece exemplifying their “spontaneity and improvisation”. Two traits they believe are key to the art they produce together.
The art that Richard selectively chooses to expose in his gallery is a clear reflection of the good taste, and keen eye he has for the truly extraordinary and unconventional. “I’m drawn to art. [It is] revolutionary and inspiring to be around.” This gallery is Richard’s beautiful safe haven, and he loves that he can share it with Mechanicsburg and the surrounding areas. Richard always liked art. One of his When it came to my personal questions past experiences involved him working at for Richard, they ranged from his favorite a fine art gallery in Manhattan for many artist, (Joan Miro) to future plans for the years. It was there that he developed a gallery. Richard appreciates the beauty of new appreciation for art. “You can see it Miro’s well-executed, whimsical, abstract in a book, but it’s not the same as looking pieces. He says the art is very graphic, at it in person because you can’t see the sometimes with a political message, texture, and you don’t smell the oil. It’s and similar to oppressive South African just different. In person, you’re around it art. Richard’s future plans for the gallery all the time.” involve putting a room in the farther spacious part of his gallery for children to Richard loves to be surrounded by art, so come and embrace the beauty of art. He he decided to move to Mechanicsburg hopes to provide a room ‘where children and bring his ideas to life. He is an can go nuts and paint’. Richard truly artistic visionary and pictured something appreciates art and believes it to be an beautiful to come from this building. important element to life. The day he found the building, he was
just driving by and immediately felt a significant rush of energy upon entering. He signed the lease without barely viewing the entire property. The layout of the gallery is perfect for each artist. It is simple and neat. And, as far as the art goes, it obviously speaks for itself. There are many forms of art, and talent is everywhere you choose to look. How one interprets, or perceives, it is dependent on the individual. So always look twice. See beauty in everything, and roam the earth with grace. One day, something will capture you deeply and unapologetically. Let it. If any of this tickles your fancy, then check out Richard Reilley’s Metropolis Collective Gallery in Mechanicsburg today, or on the next first Friday of the month. Feel free to gaze, question, or simply admire what the world of art has to offer. There is a masterpiece for everyone.
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INTERVIEW WITH JUNE MINAYA WR I T T E N BY MELIN A J ON ES
Richard Reilly, owner of the Metropolis Collective in Mechanicsburg, enjoys promoting and displaying local artists from the central PA region. He says he has to personally like the art, first and foremost, because he is around it all the time, which is a great compliment for supported artists such as Mechanicsburg’s own June Minaya. In speaking with June, I found a new meaning to art, and a new understanding as to how the artist, in some cases, benefits from this expressive hobby. Art therapy is something June said a lot of people may be unfamiliar with. June first discovered art therapy at age 25. Her therapist suggested she discover self expression through drawing or painting. This was a different approach for a shy girl, like June, to attempt. However, it was a non-destructive avenue to self discovery, so she tried it. June had been naturally talented at sketching and drawing all her life, but never had the courage to pursue it in any way. So getting the courage to do it was quite challenging, at first. After a few art supply store trips, and countless brush strokes later, June was creating masterpieces.
In late 2007, she started to feel more serious about her art, so she decided to take a few classes on portraiture and landscaping at the Art Center of Mechanicsburg. She found her instructor, Ralph Hocker, to be helpful and inspiring. As a fellow acrylic medium artist, he taught June about color blending, painting technique, intricate landscape design, and the importance of detail. Soon enough, she had her paintings up at a local gallery in Mechanicsburg. In 2011, she started to experiment with abstract art, of which she has found to be the most fun to create. I asked June how she has manages to reserve time for both painting and her
growing family. She has a beautiful four-year-old girl. She is able to perfectly balance both aspects of her life in a way that makes one wonder how she does it. Occasionally, she finds it a challenge to reserve artistic time. However, through experience gained prior to motherhood, she has managed to become extraordinarily quick and efficient at creating her paintings. June Minaya’s art is available, for viewing and purchase, at Metropolis Collective. Her pieces range from landscapes and abstracts to commission paintings. She is currently in the process of developing her own website specifically for commission requests.
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Phobia is an irrational fear
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FUN-O-PHOBIC
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START HERE We hope that we can inspire folks, especially in this economy where jobs can be hard to come by. If you have an idea that you think you can put your drive and passion into, do it!
(Adam Porter, co-founder of St@rtUp)
Our goal is to connect dreamers and doers, thinkers and tinkerers. Those getting started need a place to work, connect, and be inspired.
(Adam Brackbill, co-founder of StartUp)
st@rtup has a great working space. If you need space to work, it is a comfortable, safe place to be! ( Rayne M. & Suhni J.)
st@rtup is working for us! The biggest advantage is the networking opportunities. (Benjamin L.)
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INSPIRATION We want to spark inspiration. Our workspace and community have the tools and resources you need to get that great new idea off the ground.
COLLABORATION At st@rtup, We > Me. As a group we can accomplish more than we ever could by ourselves. We work together, have fun together and grow together.
INNOVATION Whether you’re a graphic designer, author or consultant, you have to innovate to excel in your field. As a member of st@rtup, you’ll get a leg up over your competition.
COMMUNICATION We don’t have cubicles or a boring work environment. This means you’ll get to know one another through networking events, seminars and even just over a cup of coffee.
WWW.Startuphbg.com St@rtup is Harrisburg’s first coworking space. Our goal is to connect dreamers and doers, thinkers and tinkerers. Those getting started need a place to work, connect, and be inspired. Away from the distractions of home, noise of a coffee shop or expense of old world offices, our members have an opportunity to innovate like never before. Members who are looking for a place to grow their business will have access to a coworking space that is professional, yet easy going; collaborative, yet independent where they can conduct business efficiently.
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A H F RO
YO A M HE
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A few weeks before Eric Papenfuse became Harrisburg’s new mayor, we had a chance to talk with him. He shared with us his thoughts about Harrisburg, and some other unlikely bits of knowledge. We didn’t know if he knew it or not, but the magazine with which he was about to interview wasn’t much into politics. There’s a disingenuous connotation associated with it, and we were mentally prepared to squash all contrived answers to our questions. We made a premeditated decision to not ask questions regarding the election. There are countless avenues that information can be obtained from. We wanted to know about Eric Papenfuse, the man. We met at his headquarters on Third Street, which was heavily under construction. Amidst the sounds of hammering and sawing, we began our interview.
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ONLY HARRISBURG INDEPENDENT MAGAZINE OF THE ARTS
STEPHEN REED
E R I C PA P E N F U S E
JOHN HARRIS PA U L D O U T R I C H LINDA THOMPSON
G E O R G E CO L E J O H N F R I TC H E Y
We first asked him where he was from and what inspired him as a child.
asked him the adjunct question about his favorite artist.
because it’s a dance he could probably do. As for the star, it would have to be someone so beautiful that it would take “I was born in Baltimore, Maryland. I was “I am a huge fan of a Pennsylvania the attention off of him. He asked if we born in a neighborhood called Roland portrait artist named Thomas Sully. [He] had any suggestions, so we told him Park and it's interesting [because] it has a lived in Philadelphia and was, sort of, Jennifer Lawrence was a good choice. Harrisburg connection. Roland Park was the pre-eminent American portrait artist He agreed and stated that she is “way the neighborhood upon which Bellevue circa the War of 1812, all the way up into too good” especially since she was in Park was modeled and developed. I the 1870s. The Philadelphia Museum of Silver Lining’s Playbook. He admired the grew up in a home filed with books. Art has a wonderful collection [of his]. I dedication of the actors to those roles My mother was a teacher, my father like portraiture, in general, as an art form. because of all the practice and training was an archivist. He just retired after It’s something that captivates me” they had to go through. Then he made 40 years of being a Maryland state perfectly clear that he would not be Now that we had some basic background archivist. He worked in Annapolis and dancing anytime in the near future. information out of the way, we decided had an extensive library of Maryland to start the interrogation, and began history books. Every room in our house Next we asked what three items asking him things that REALLY mattered. he would bring with him if he was had bookshelves to the ceiling. [I have] a deep-seated belief in literacy, and that So, we asked if he was on the show stranded on a desert island. He leaned ‘Dancing With The Stars’, which movie knowledge is power.” back in his chair smiling and said “Oh star would he choose to dance with, boy”. We could practically see the As an owner of a bookstore and avid and what dance would he perform; the wheels in his head turning. We were all reader, we had to ask him what his fox trot, the cha cha, The waltz or a very eager to hear the answer. favorite book was. He said it was freestyle. He was in disbelief. We made Waterland, by British novelist Graham the mayor blush! “I would say music. I would bring an Swift. The book is about a history iPod, and I had actually thought about After a minute of nervous laughter, teacher, who in teaching his students, what I would want on my iPod. It would he said it would have to be the waltz reminisces on his own life. We then include some of my favorite singer/
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"I want to try and bring everyone together for the common good." songwriters. People like Ellis Paul, the Indigo Girls and a few other artists. I'd have to have music. I would certainly want a book or two...or three. I'd want books I could read again and again and again, so I would probably choose fiction. [That] would allow me to constantly reinterpret the stories. All good fiction, depending on which stage you're in in your life, will allow you to take away new meaning. And then food, of course. I like anything with maple syrup and I'm a big fan of popcorn. So popcorn, books and an iPod.” Sounded like a good afternoon. We then told him about how cool we thought it’d be if Harrisburg had it’s very own mascot. And as the future mayor, it would only make sense for him to choose what animal it would be. So we asked him. “I think an egret or a water bird that is associated with the Susquehanna. I think part of our marketing has to be reminding people of the beautiful, natural setting of Harrisburg. So maybe if we were better connected to that it would encourage people to come
experience the Greenbelt and Riverfront Park. I think it would help drive tourism to the city.” At this point we wanted to ask him a serious question. We wanted to know what he thought about his own life and how he viewed his own success. So we asked him what he wanted his legacy to be, and how he wanted to be remembered. “Up to this point I’d like to be remembered, first and foremost, as a father and a husband who raised a healthy and well-rounded family. [Also] as a business owner who started from scratch and created a business that wasn’t just about profit. It was about changing the community. What we want to do is make a difference by creating a space where people can come together. If I'm fortunate enough to win the [mayoral] election, I would hope that my legacy will be as somebody who was able to bring the community together. [Someone who] created consensus [between] the divisions which have really held Harrisburg back. The fighting between mayor and city council, I am
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committed to changing that through a new style. Some of the other divisions that we have in our community of racial and class lines, I want to try and bring everyone together for the common good. I also want a legacy that brings business and development, and people back to Harrisburg. I hope we can grow the population, and I hope we can create opportunities for small businesses to come and thrive, and for larger business to come and [provide jobs]. I think through smart policy and real leadership we can do that. That would be a tremendous legacy....By the way, you have some exclusives here. No one else has any idea about my love of popcorn.” He had mentioned earlier that he traveled extensively, so we wanted to know if he had any experiences that changed his life, or gave him a new outlook. “When I was 15, my grandparents took me to Africa. I would say up to that point in time, nothing had prepared me for the abject poverty that I had seen in parts of Nairobi, and other villages and cities along the way. It was an eye-opening experience that showed me the level of privilege that I had in my daily life that I didn't ever really realize. It was a tremendous experience.” Now that we knew what his big picture was and a bit more on how it was shaped, we were curious to know if there was anything in his life that he would’ve changed, or if he had any big regrets. “I have changed a lot in my life already. I never thought I’d go into politics, and it was never part of the plan. I went to graduate school completely convinced I was going to be a college professor and changed. I came to Harrisburg and began to explore. I always had an entrepreneurial streak, but I had no
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ONLY HARRISBURG INDEPENDENT MAGAZINE OF THE ARTS
OPEN MINDED
E R I C PA P E N F U S E
B O O K LO V E R EXPERIENCED SHY PURPOSFUL
experience running a business, and we built that (Midtown Scholar) entirely from scratch. So my life has not been a consistent pattern of , ‘we’re going to do this in five years, and then we’re going to do that.’ It’s been one surprise after another. I believe, and now we’re getting personal, in a concept of providence. [It] leads me to have great hope and faith in my life no matter what direction I’m going. I might not know what direction my life is going, but somehow it’s for a greater purpose.” That belief in serendipity was intriguing and not something we had expected from a man who was planning on running for mayor. We had to ask about a rumor we heard about future plans on an arts bureau. After all, we are an art and photography magazine. “We would like to have an arts bureau that would be located within our Community and Economic Development Department. The Arts Bureau is going to focus on many different things from opening the city archives and trying to look into how we spend our tourism dollars, to running the festivals we have
in our parks, whether they’re arts and crafts based or music based. [We’d like to] open a film office, and create an arts alliance, which will be an advisory group of non-profits. The hope [is] of bringing everybody together so that we can apply for grants,and a variety of other things, collectively. [We want to do] a real inventory of what we have as an artsbased community. I’m a strong believer in the arts as an engine of economic development.”
“That sentiment has yet to be written. I think we chose very carefully, for the campaign, a motto that I felt represented what we were trying to do. Nothing can be accomplished alone. It really requires a collective energy of a diverse group of individuals to have something. If we work together, we can accomplish anything.”
So there we have it! ‘If we work together, we can accomplish anything.’ It was hard not to love this man. He was showing With all this Arts Bureau talk, we thought us a more vulnerable side of himself. we’d put him to the test. We asked him One that believed in faith, the greater to draw a picture of the potential mascot good, and providence. Most people of Harrisburg. He told us that he does running for office will throw out facts not consider himself an artist of any and figures to try and make themselves sort, and that he’d sooner find a talented seem reputable, but this man confessed artist to draw one for him. But he had to not knowing anything about starting a been a good sport throughout, so no business, yet despite it, has enjoyed great hard feelings. But how awesome would success. He seemed genuine in his love it have been to include his drawing of an for the city, and we are ecstatic he has egret in this article? Oh well. Maybe next now made the transition from business time. owner to mayor! We definitely hope to see his plans for the city of Harrisburg For our last question, we asked him come to fruition. if he had to put a plaque outside his office with a sentiment he felt exemplified Harrisburg, what would it say?
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We take turns controlling the weather,
More, even, than they have to be.
Laughing about meteorology
Your silence is sickening."
A CO N V E R S AT I O N I N T H E H O U S E O F F I C T I O N
As we clink our bottom shelf glasses together. So I begin, One night, while observing the stars,
"I will give you Queequeg,
(Drinking lightning out of mason jars)
You can give me Juliet.
Clouds began to take their place
We will happily drink our poison
And the moonlight became murky,
And ride the Pequod into the sunset.
Nearly subsiding entirely.
If a gale overtakes our vessel
She speaks without looking at me,
I suppose you'll look at me with helpless eyes,
Leaning back a little
While holding in your sorrow
With a peaceful look on her face-
Which your pride quickly denies."
Made milky by the remaining moonlight,
I pause, considering my summation,
"The sky can be so lovely at night,
"I rather like these somber clouds
If you care enough to look at it.
And the morose ambiance
Who would you like tonight, Mr. Gray?
Their presence graciously allows."
I suppose you want Imogen,
Consternation follows her face around
But I couldn't, even if I tried.
For what is left of the evening,
I could give you Juliet..."
And conversations that linger are spoken
She trails off
Between Daisy and Tom Buchanan.
And we sit in silence as I remark to myself How poetic she's become. With no feeling or affection, she adds, "You're getting lazy." Now, this is as I had reckoned And a smile lights upon my lips Which there is no need to hide. I thought her assault was over, But she continues, "You make things difficult for me,
alan gamby
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Harrisburg YMCA An Interview with Bill Osborne, Director of Marketing INTERVIEW BY LEMS BELKA
We wanted to do an article on one of the most historically significant non-profits our city (and nation) has ever known, the YMCA. We setup an interview with the East Shore branch’s Director of Marketing, Bill Osborne. He gave us a tour of the palatial building and really put a context to the intricate architecture, and the history behind it. The architecture, alone, is worth a trip. It’s magnificent. During the interview, we learned even more about how the Y began, what they do now, where they are headed, and how you can be a part of it!
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What makes this particular chapter different from other YMCAs? It’s unique in that there are fewer urban YMCA’s than there used to be, so we maintain one of the original missions of the Y, which is providing housing for men. We provide housing for 86 men. We’ve done that since the beginning. This building was built with that in mind. Sixteen of those men are homeless veterans that live here as part of a collaboration between us, the YWCA, and the Veteran’s Administration; so if there’s anything that makes us different, it’s that we are an urban Y. How did you become director of marketing? I started out working at one of the desks part time. I was in the antique business. And, as you might imagine, the income stream is not very stable in that business. So I took a job here to make sure that there was regular money coming in. My background had been in printing and communications years ago, and I just sort of eased my way into that. As we’ve grown, we’ve needed to put some more effort into those areas, so we’ve added staff that we wouldn’t have dreamed of ten years ago. How long have you lived in Harrisburg, and why did you decide to make this city your home? I’m originally from Baltimore,. I came here for college. I went to Messiah and decided to move into the city about thirty years ago. Harrisburg is actually like the neighborhood I grew up in, back in Baltimore. [It’s] very similar to Highlandtown. I moved to this city because I’m a city boy. I enjoyed the time that I was at Messiah, living in the country, but there’s something about the city. Lots of opportunity for a lot of things.
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communities in which the Y plays a very vital role, that way. The Y did play a role like that back into the 30’s and 40’s. There was a band and a choir here, but we no longer need to do that because they’ve risen up out of the community, so [other arts focused organizations] are doing that. They do it better than we would because our mission is larger and more comprehensive. What would you like to see more of in Harrisburg?
As far as culture is concerned I think we’re pretty fortunate for the size of city we are. We have some pretty amazing opportunities, especially in the visual Most people think of Y’s and [envision] arts. I think on a per-capita basis that the the suburbs, where the place is full of number of shops and galleries we have children, which is wonderful, but this is a is probably beating the national average. different kind of place. Because we are in We actually have a very healthy theater the city, we have a little bit more social community, as well. We’re a small city, responsibility, I think. And we attract a but we have some of the advantages, at different clientele. We have two basic least in the arts community, of a larger demographics that we work with. We city. When you look at the symphony, have the people that work downtown and the Harrisburg Players, or the and find this a convenient place to Susquehanna Art Museum, those are come before, after, or during lunch, some pretty amazing things for a city to work out. We also reach out to the that’s got less than 50,000 people. neighborhood people, and we’ve been doing that. We’ve been concentrating If someone is interested in our efforts on that recently, reaching volunteering at the YMCA, what out to the adjacent neighborhoods and opportunities are available? meeting the needs of those people. There are several opportunities. We have Again, there are not many children in a program called Hope and Handball. this immediate neighborhood, so much of what we do is geared differently than It’s another thing that sort of makes us different, but it actually does involve a suburban YMCA. We do offer swim children. It’s a mentoring program for lessons and we have youth programs, at-risk youth in the city, so we bring but if you go to a typical YMCA all day long, there are children [all around]. That them on board. We pair them with mentors who teach them handball, and won’t be the case here. hopefully they learn some life skills along As far as the arts go with the YMCA, the way. There are plenty of volunteer do you ave anything like painting or opportunities. They can be anything photography courses? from helping administrative staff, to offering tours, to mentoring children. No, we don’t. We tried here a couple of times. There are lots of other outlets for the arts in the area, and there are some
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I remember there was an event with a lot of people running around City Island, and that is was sponsored by your organization. Do you do any other marathons?
The Y has three areas of focus: Youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. Healthy living is what everybody is most familiar with, of course. We’ve been doing it for a long time, and we do it well, but it’s certainly not the only thing we do.
What direction do you see the the YMCA headed to in the future?
I think that the Y did some soul searching in the last few years. Everybody knows we re-launched. We’ve That was probably the HACC marathon. got a new logo. But there’s more to it We sponsor a number of races here. than just the logo, and I think it’s the That’s another specialty, and again, that’s What would you consider your realization that we are going to follow probably something that makes us a little modus operandi in life? What keeps the original mission statement more different that other Y’s because we offer you going? closely. We want to truly focus more on a whole calendar of races throughout the youth development, social responsibility, year. We have an Armed Forces Day run. Well, it’s probably changed. Up until a and healthy living. That’s where we’re couple of years ago, I was pretty hardA 5k. We have the Harrisburg Mile, going to target our efforts, as opposed to driven. An “A” type of personality. But which is probably the largest sporting the blunderbuss approach, doing a little some things happened in my life that event in the area. We also have the bit of everything. We’re trying to meet make me take things a little more mellow our social responsibilities, and make adventure challenge. Next year, we’ll now. I’d say it is “don’t sweat it too be having another 5k in collaboration people understand that we are more much”. Relax. with Troegs Brewery. It will take place than just a gym and swim. in Hershey. We also have a trail run with Kessler’s in the Spring.
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INITIATIVE IN HARRISBURG
3RD STREET
BERRYHILL STREET
MARION ST
WESLEY UNION
T
G R E E N U R BA N . ORG
G R E E N U R B A N I N I T I AT I V E (G U I ) I S A N O N P R O F I T O R G A N I Z AT I O N D E D I C AT E D TO I M P L E M E N T I N G S U S TA I N A B L E L I V I N G P R A C T I C E S I N H A R R I S B U R G , P E N N S Y LVA N I A . Our m ain fo c us is t o est ab lish a local network of sma ll- s ca l e com m u ni t y g a rd en s , w i t h a dd i t i o n al ef fo rt s aim ed at red uc ing wast e and fo st ering co m m unication ab ou t s u s t a i n a b l e l i vi ng pr a c t i ces i n o u r bel o ved c it y. GUI b elieves t hat it is o ur right – and resp o nsib ili ty – as hu ma n b e i n gs t o e n s u re t h at t h e w ay we l i ve a l l o w s o urselves and f ut ure generat io ns t o m eet b asic human needs, w hich re q u i re s m i n d f u l ev a l u at i o n a bo u t h o w we g o ab o ut m eet ing o ur im m ed iat e need s as well as ho w our decisions today a ffe ct t h e a b i l i t y o f o u r c h i l d ren a n d g r a n dc hild ren t o m eet t heir need s.
UNAPpRECIATED
MUSIC SCENE IN TE R V I E W / WR ITTEN B Y D AS HIEL L GL ACE PHOTOGRAPHY BY KELLY ANN SHULER
I remember a time before Cumulus Media (the second largest operator of radio in the country) homogenized the air waves and local music could be heard; if not regularly at least conveniently scheduled on the weekends. This would have been right around 1999-2000. Why is this important? Well at the time there were very few places to actually perform. During this period of time there were only a few places to see music, most of them were far more guerilla. The place I remember with the fondest memories was The Wire in New Cumberland, but there were many other places many far less intended for music. Township Fire Halls and book stores were among the typical make shift location for musical venues; I even remember seeing some really cool shows in a bagel shop. One of the few surviving locations is Championship at 52 Market Street in Lemoyne. This is not to say that you did not find music at places such as bars, but normally the music there mimicked or directly covered the tunes approved by Cumulus Media’s marketing department. In other words all there were, was cover bands at bars. Now while cover bands are how classic music gains such a nomenclature (a symphony is nothing more than a cover band); what does this say about us on a cultural level as
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producers? Sure, there were great shows at places such as the Whitaker Center, but these are normally imports from other places, or are cover bands in their own right. Still there was a void, a void in recognizing our own cultural significance as Central Pennsylvanians. The rise of Second Street as a seemingly centralized location for recreation decreased the turn out in surrounding bars as weekend hang outs. Yet with Second Street there were not many stages originally and the best bands you could find playing there were more toxic cover bands such as Emily’s Toybox, it was still very much a bar mentality. While downtown tried to mimic more popular cities night life and brought with it the same type of banality, Harrisburg midtown started to come into its own right. Between 2001 and 2002 the births of both the Midtown Scholar and the Midtown Cinema came into being. While not always locally oriented these were both cheaper places than the Whitaker Center and far less formal, which breathed an accessible air of art into the lungs of the surrounding area. We can now see the life that this breath has supported, we can see a more diverse groups of people trying to not just bring culture to the area but more important synthesis its own new and distinct culture. Near the corner of Third Street and Herr we find Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center (HMAC). Every night of the week this venue offers many different promises. During the weekend you can see some of the more established local bands play, yet ever Wednesday anyone can take the stage with open mic nights, which is where a few of the more establish bands became established. More impressive yet the walls are decorated with the works of many different local
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visual artist as well, and yes all the art is for sale. With its blossoming successes it has also brought into town many great bands from out of town as well. It is a great thing when diverse artist from out of town can consider your town a viable location to visit, and HMAC has helped with that. Further down Third Street, as of 2012, there is The Make Space. Their aim is to bolster Harrisburg’s arts culture. To do this they rented out a house at 1916 North Third Street. The upstairs has been converted into affordable studio space for local visual artist; the downstairs has become gallery space. Yet here you will also find bands from all over come to play, both local and regional. Once again this is a location that is making our humble capital into a destination for musicians. Experimental music, fun music. The entire building was renovated for its present purpose by the surrounding communities. This venue is an amazing display of how when there is a will there is a way. Another great feature is The Take Space, where donated books can be taken by anyone walking down the street. Active involvement with anyone interested is defiantly a keystone to this cultural hub. Yet there are a couple other stages worth mentioning when it comes to local artist. The Federal Tap House at 234 North Second Street is helping to bring music to the heart of our capital city. This location I believe has truly helped tame the once chaotic downtown. It has brought in a slightly ore established crowd, not only with their stage but also with the adjoining restaurant and bar. It is by far and away more inviting to a much more diverse crowd than the previous business of The Hardware Bar. A bar and stage so unoriginal it ripped of a
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third rate movie to theme it, let alone this stage hosted many very terrible and derivative bands such as Emily’s Toy Box. This stage is actually located next to another amazing venue to have come to our city, it is 2nd cities larger than Harrisburg barely flirt with the idea of a comedy scene. Yet not Street Comedy, locate at 236 North Second Street. Many large only are we producing some very amazing local talents, we are hosting many national acts as well. It is great to see so many diverse methods of expression come from one’s own home. Another stage worth mentioning has actually been around for a while. Appalachian Brewing Company (ABC) has a great stage and progressively host more and more local acts. While slightly out of the way compared to many of the other locations mentioned, the stage itself it easily one of the better ones to see a show at. Although the stage itself is named The Abbey Bar, it is located above ABC at 50 North Cameron Street.
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TO A PERSONALIZED SESSION AT
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THE LITTLE BROTHER
COMPLEX WRITTEN BY DOUG MORRISON
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Growing up can be tough for anyone. You realize you’re not a child anymore, but you’re also not quite an adult. You’re trying to find an identity. You want to be noticed. You’re trying out new activities and hobbies, making sense of what you’re good at and what you enjoy. You can’t quite pull off the trends, but you can’t break the mold. It’s an awkward period, but it’s a defining period. This is a story about Harrisburg’s growing pains. At the end of the last century, our long-standing definition of a working class steel town had faded far from the glory days of industry in the area. For years, stalling population growth, government mismanagement and corruption. and rapidly
declining job market and quality of life has wasted away what little sense of identity and pride in the area. Those who could fled to the suburbs or away from the area, and those who couldn’t watched as the city they loved deteriorated. The city had hit an all time low, just as crime and poverty hit an all time high. Things looked bleaked, but the end of every age means a new beginning. Enter the new age of the city. Periods of stagnancy and decline serve a very important function in the cyclical nature of life; it allows for substantial growth and change. That is the landscape that is visible here, a canvas that has faded so much that it has become blank again. This blank canvas, while a bleak reminder of days past, is, more than anything, a call to repaint this city in our colors. As population growth trends finally began to reverse, and with revitilization blooming positive change across the city,
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literate
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and a more hopeful and inspired Harrisburg is on the rise, we are beginning to build a legacy and a culture that will come to define ourselves and our fair city for years to come. That is precisely what has been happening here; we are rebuilding this city, painting it in an expression of ourselves, but this leaves us to ask, “Who are we?” Finding a voice. Every artist goes through a period of definition early in their career, this is commonly called the creative learning cycle; Imitate, Assimilate, Create. First by learning from other artists that inspire you, and then blending the knowledge and skills together, a distinct style and voice begins to emerge that makes the artist unique. By imitating, we learn how to define ourselves. The evolution of a sense of identity follows a very similar process, we find trends and patterns that already exist, and blend them together to create the tapestry that defines a
ver ses
community or culture. The more we imitate cultural trends however, the realization of Harrisburg as the “little brother” of the East Coast begins to set in. We seem to try to hard, to crave attention, or find a trend after most of the rest of the world has lost interest. We feel it every day, a sense that we aren’t being authentic. How can we be true to ourselves when we’re still not sure of who we are? More importantly, how does a city with an emerging culture define itself against the rest of the already massive personalities along the East Coast? We can show an interest on shining politically, but can’t compare to DC. We can make big showings musically, but won’t have the connections and visibility of New York, or pull the crowds of Philly and Baltimore. We have to take this time to find our passions and our talents, decide what we want and what we need as a community, and express it. There we find the next stage, as in growing
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A CALL TO REPAINT
THIS CITY
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up, it is a synthesis; as the passions, interests, tastes, personalities, views, beliefs, expectations and patterns blend together, a distinct image of who we are begins to emerge. Shouting from the rooftops. Of course, an image of who you are or who you would like to be doesn’’t really have much effect on the world, what really matters is action. That is what this article is at it’s core, it is a call to action. Finding an identity is nice, but if your life doesn’t reflect your idealism then you’re your potential, and if there’s one thing we have in abundance here it’s potential. A potential that needs to be actualized for us to progress. So I challenge you, dear readers, to push yourself past your comfort zones and really work to build a life that is an expression of your ideals. Write your song, and shout it from the rooftops! We have to actualize ourselves as a community, and as individuals, if we are to truly prosper. However, as Maslow will tell you, you cannot reach self-actualization without having your other needs met - so we as a society have to take utmost care to ensure food, shelter, warmth, security, health, and a sense of belonging to every member of our community. We are not a city of indivuals, we are an individual’s city; take time to help people in need, whether that means volunteering at the Bethesda Mission soup kitchen, giving a blanket to someone who is freezing, or even just a smile and a hello when you pass by people on the street. The more you do to ensure the joys and security of the community, the more self-actualized we as a culture can become collectively. Sadly, we seem to have lost that collective spirit in Modern times, and it shows. It is time to reverse that trend, it all starts here and now. What’s next? What’s next relies on you, it is an extension of you, an extension of everyone who calls this valley home, but it doesn’t require anything special. Just live, just be yourself. Stand up for your beliefs, explore your passions and your hobbies, pursue your dreams. Support local businesses and help out the communities that you call home. Bring people together, organize events and groups, take an interest in what is happening here. Build a strong sense of community, help the needy, make new friends, forgive a few enemies. After all, the culture of this city is a tapestry; a conglomeration of color, each of us shining in our own distinct hue, to come together and form an image of who we are as a people and a society. So ask yourself, what do you think Harrisburg will be like in 20 years when it’s all grown up?
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2ND C I TY
CHURCH
INTERVIEW BY LEMS BELKA What makes your church unique?
What is your personal vision of good Christian art?
Every church has it’s own characteristics. There are a lot of things that don’t make our church unique. We are just a typical church in many ways. We are a group of ordinary people, and we believe in the same basic fundamentals as other Christians. However, one thing that makes this church different is that we are purposefully and intentionally trying to be a neighborhood church. Most of the churches in the city of Harrisburg, the White Protestant churches, moved out from the city during the 60s and 70s. years ago, we were very intentional about being meaningful in our city. We wanted to show how faith could make a difference in Harrisburg. We believe that Jesus becomes incarnate, and he speaks Hebrew. He also speaks the language of the people he wants to minister to. In the same way, we want to incarnate our faith in the city of Harrisburg. We love Harrisburg and we think that God wants this city to flourish. God loves cities. I often tell our church members that the story of the Bible starts in the garden, but it ends in the city. When God tells Christians to imagine what it would look like for everything to be redeemed, He gives them the language of that city and a picture of what that looks like. We want to say, ‘Let’s imagine Harrisburg as redeemed’. A city that is not characterized by poverty or violence, racism and strife, but a city that is characterized by flourishing human beings.
I like the Italian filmmaker, Pier Paolo Pasolini, who worked in 1970, I think. Caleb showed us this movie “The Gospel According to St. Matthew”. It is a beautiful movie, and people from all over the community came to watch it. For a Christian, a film like that has much deeper, significant meaning than to somebody who doesn’t really connect with Christ. Visual art, and other good things that happen in the community, we see as signs of God and His love for humanity. We want to see more of it.
Does the church do any outreach to artists? We encourage signs of hope. For example, we launched the Moviate gallery in church. It’s run by Caleb and Tara. The wonderful thing about them is that they take the city further by bringing us interesting art. That’s what really grounded our relationship with them. Also, we have quite a few visual artists in our congregation. Christianity has a really rich history in the arts and music.
Do you have any programs in the church that involve the arts? We have been really open to the community. We have rented out space for artists who needed it. You probably know Jeff Johnson. He rented a space from us for his class project. He used it as a studio. We have also hosted arts and crafts bazaars, sales, and exhibitions a few times. If someone wants to use your church space, how should they reach you to apply? I think most of it is via personal connections. Either that, or I try to tell people that we have community space that can be used. Of course, we want people to be respectful and understand the mission of the church. We see this building as something that God give us to share with the Harrisburg community. We have had musicians. We also host after school programs. We have a partnership with an organization called “The Center for Champions”. You probably saw them in the hallway when you came. There are about fifty children here.
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“Our Heart is restless until it rests in You” – Saint Augustine.
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What don’t you like?
We want to say, ‘Let’s imagine Harrisburg as redeemed’. A city that is not characterized by poverty or violence, racism and strife, but a city that is characterized by flourishing human beings. Do they study the Bible? No. They study academics. There is a counselor who asks about what is going on in their lives. They are being supported spiritually and morally. They are loved. But the main goal is to help these kids succeed in school and make sense in their lives. A lot of these kids are in difficult situations. So the after school program is fantastic. They always need volunteers. We also have started a kind of Boy Scouts. It’s called the “Cadets Program”. It is an opportunity for young boys to get together with men, and learn about themselves and growing up. We have a place where people can come if they need housing support also. We assist people with food and furniture. We have services for older men and women in nursing homes that have become completely isolated. We go and visit them. We have our church musicians. We invite a lot of young people and help them learn music. It’s an opportunity to have adult mentors in their lives.
Oh, that’s easy. I would like to see real public education. The education is not as bad as people think it is, but the high school is a tragedy. I feel bad for the teachers and administrators, and understand that they don’t have many options. We need to take education a lot more seriously. We need better schools. I want to see the entire city start to value children. I think we treat them like criminals, or just ignore them. It is not surprising that by the time they end high school, they are ignored and neglected even further, and living in constant drama their whole lives. I think the city should treat them respectfully. Maybe it would keep people from moving. People always have the option to live in a better place, spend the same amount of money, and put their children in much better school districts. What does this church do for a holiday like Halloween? We get dressed and go for a walk. I see the people in my neighborhood who dress up, too, and we talk with each other. It is my favorite time, and I wouldn’t miss it with a church program. If the state of Pennsylvania will legalize gay marriage, would you allow the ceremonies in your church? My denomination would not allow me to. Does your church support gay rights?
Yes. I guess it depends on what that means. Our church is a traditional Christian church in many ways. It also depends on members of the church. We have gay people who are Christians. What I would say about gay rights could be different from what others might say. Historically, churches What is your opinion about Harrisburg? all around the world have this idea of what marriage looks like, but it is changing right now. Culturally, it is changing. I We have all of the essential elements for the true urban don’t tell people how to vote, I don’t tell people how to think. experience here. We have the scale of the city. It is walkable I just try to tell them what faith in Christ is. Whether it is a gay and people live close together. It is surrounded by industry, a person or straight person. What a normal relationship is, and river and has all of these compounds. I think Harrisburg was what’s not a normal relationship, is going to look different to neglected, and it has never been converted to a modern city. different people. I try to share Christ with people regardless But for a very small city, it still feels like a city. You can live of where they come from. I tell them how we can help them in a big city in Arizona, but spend all your week driving a car, going from office to office, and even if the population is huge, discover who God wants them to be. We try to be the safe space for everybody who wants to come and explore faith. it doesn’t really feel like you are in an urban environment. The church has never been silent on sexuality, and neither has In Harrisburg, everything is tight. There is an actual urban culture. I think the church should listen to what culture has to environment. I love the diversity in Harrisburg. God is three entities in one, and it means to us that God, Himself, is diverse. say, sometimes, about where it stands, in regards to sexuality Harrisburg reflects it very well. The block where I live is diverse and love. I think it is terrible that gay people have been treated harshly in the name of faith. I don’t think that is [acceptable] in so many ways. nor the norm.
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d l a r e g z t i Mike F
AND
C I L C G HB
W R I T T E N B Y S H A N E D AV E N P O RT Let’s talk about collaboration in Harrisburg. About how people separately create, and why you feel they don’t allow certain people to be part of their group? You just answered your own statement. You said collaboration and you said separately creating. Separately creating something is not a collaboration. It’s you doing something. There is no You have established the HBGclic community. What do you guys stand for, and what are you trying to bring to Harrisburg? You even made a short film, right? Tell me about that. HBGclic actually is just me and another person. So it’s like a two person army. I think HBGclic started because we’re not part of the group mentality that is Harrisburg. That’s not for trying, but I guess we don’t have the cool jeans, or the cool shoes, or the cool sunglasses, or whatever it is that defines art and photography in Harrisburg. I’m not upset about it. In fact, I really don’t care. I know my background in photography. I know where I’ve been. Where I’ve lived hasn’t just been Harrisburg, PA. I’ve lived all over the world. And I’ve collaborated with a lot of artists and musicians from New York, to LA, to Berlin. In fact, I
just came back from Berlin. There’s a weird dynamic here. I think people get into little groups and they think that their ideas, or what they’re doing, is more important than what other people are doing. It doesn’t feel, to me, like something that’s inclusive. It feels, to me, like something that’s exclusionary.
You obviously feel they have made you an outsider. For you, what would be an ideal model to inspire true collaboration in a small city like this?
I think, as far as collaborating, that people have to open up their heads a little bit more than they are. And to kind of pull resources in from all over the city. So it’s just strange that people will talk It’s all around us. It’s where you look. about themselves being artists, musicians Where like other artists. Urban artists. and this and that, and when somebody Painters, musicians, poets or something. outside of their little dynamic comes It’s very exclusionary here and I don’t, I’m into the fold, that person’s shot down. I not saying this to downgrade anybody, would think that as an artist you would but I find that a lot of art groups here are kind of want to include everybody in 99.9% White. And they’re telling people what you’re doing. And try to draft that are coming in for 3rd in the Burg or ideas together! I think if you have more First Fridays, or whatever the case may than one voice in a situation, its’ going be, to come in and be cool by being like to make your project, whatever you’re us. But there are people in this city that doing, murals or whatever...it’s going to are not like them. Us. make it bigger. And a lot better because It’s one thing to form an art-based you’re learning from something, or community but you’ve got to be inclusive someone, that’s unknown to you. Or in that community, and I don’t think unknown for the moment. anybody’s venturing up into Allison Hill So I’m not angry. I’m not harboring any to check out some kid that’s beatboxing. ill-will against “art” groups in Harrisburg, Or maybe a brilliant sculptor or painter. but I think Harrisburg has a long way to No one is pulling him into the fold to go as far as putting stuff out, and being nurture him. To have the whole scene the artists that they think they are. Or grow. It’s just “Hey we’re down here want to be. It’s hard, but that’s their doing our thing, and I got another grant decision. That’s not mine. from somewhere. Somebody knows how to write so we’ve got a building,
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and we’ve got our little collage projects going on every two and a half weeks, or whatever, and we’re cool! We’ve got the cool sweaters”. It just makes no sense to me because you’re just keeping it in one place. The only thing that you’re changing is your little circle of whoever it is that’s walking with you, or in your little art fold. The change is within, but art is not supposed to something that’s within, art is supposed to be something exponential. it’s supposed to expand. And as it expands it’s supposed to bring stuff back and expand again. It’s alive. So if you think about a still pond in the morning, the water almost looks like glass. Then you throw a rock into
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the water, there’s a ripple effect. From the center of that rock it expands and hits all the shores. And then it comes back again. And then it goes back out again until it subsides. And you throw another rock in there and the same thing happens. So I think people here have to understand that they...yes, they’re doing positive things. They’ve been doing positive things for the community and everything, but how far into the community are they going? Where’s their border? Where’s their limit? Where are they stopping? Because that’s what I find is happening in Harrisburg. People, for all the right reasons (in their own minds) are doing the right thing. But I think that they could take it a step further. Two steps further. Ten steps further.
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If these people, or groups of artists, decided to do that, where do you suggest they go to find this untapped potential? I think it’s important to collaborate in an effort to bring up the children and young adults. Can you name any organizations that are already doing this in Harrisburg? I think Jump Street is doing some stuff. It’s funny that you ask me that because when I was in Berlin, I went to a place called Klimt Hollow, and it’s made completely of shipping containers. They built a building out of shipping containers. The whole thing looks collaborative. All these artists got together to make this building. They committed to getting this thing done. Anybody that has an idea, or is an artist, or musician, or somebody who works with children, or works with women that are in danger, can go to this place. They can get a place to hold a meeting, dance, fundraiser, whatever it is that they want to do, basically. Art shows, whatever. I studied architecture and I’ve always loved this container concept because you’re up-cycling. You’re taking something that nobody uses anymore,
and you’re building something out of it. My dream would be to have a public space here in Harrisburg that is up-cycled from material nobody uses anymore. Where it’s all-inclusive. It’s a gathering point. People can come in and they can protest, they can debate. They can write, they can read. They can argue. They can do poetry or take painting classes. Or dance classes. All volunteer. There’s nobody getting rich here. It’s just to bring the community together. I know there are a lot of groups in Harrisburg, like church groups and others, that are trying to have some kind of communal space. I mean, the closest, I think, to that kind of situation is here at Midtown Scholar. I’m not trying to promote Papenfuse or the shop. I’m promoting this space. The idea. I have got to give him credit. He allows debate. He allows dialogue. he allows art. He allows musicians. It’s a public...it’s privately owned, yeah, but it’s a public space. People can come up here and read, or have a coffee, bullshit, or do whatever it is they’re doing. We need more spaces like this. And maybe on a bigger scale. Something that people are allowed to create in. And it has to be cross-cultural and multinational. There has to be an open dialogue. If there’s none of that going
on, then we’re kidding ourselves. We’re thinking greatness but we’re not being great. You know. Get out of the center of Harrisburg and go up to Allison Hill. Have a drawing lesson for some talented kids, or even kids who are not talented. Go and get them. Go get a bus. Go up there, get permission from parents, and take the kids to a museum in Philadelphia. Okay, so again. With HBGclic community, you and Billy...what is your purpose? We don’t have a mission. There’s no goal. There’s no “let’s make as much money as we can.’ We are trying to bring, actually bring, people into our world, which is photography. And to just have fun with it. It doesn’t have to be a professional photographer. It could be a novice photographer. It could be someone who’s never picked up a camera before. HBGclic is about “come on in, this is what we’re doing. Check it out, if you want to. If you dig it, if you like it, cool.” Then they say “I want to get into that. How’d you do that? How do you do night photography or floating photography?” I’ve nothing to hide. So come on in and learn. Everybody. Anybody that has a camera. If you don’t
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have one we’ll probably loan you one. I’ve got a ton of cameras, so if somebody wants to do something, the door is open. Let’s go. Let’s do it. Let’s just do it. We’re doing what we love to do, which is take photographs. And if there are people that are kind of interested in it, or trying to get into it, but they’re afraid or whatever... we speak, like, really good English and we don’t take photography into some magical realm that you’ll never freaking understand. A lot of people do that. They’ll say “you don’t know what a stop is or an ISO is? What’s your problem?” We’re not that way. We’re very “okay man, let me explain it to you. Do this. Do that.” Click, click, click and just play around until you get it right. That’s it! We’re not a training camp. We’re just two guys having fun. Did you actually try to go somewhere in the community and do something with people? Like, did you ask them to exhibit with your pictures, and you got refused or rejected? Well actually we shot a short film. It’s Billy’s concept about the gun violence in
Harrisburg. And we actually used people that we just picked off the street. These are not actors. They’re not stars. They’re just people that live in Harrisburg, and it came out pretty beautiful It’s still being edited, but I think we’ve got an honest and raw kind of experience from people that have never been in front of a camera. They’re not professionals. They don’t know how to act, but they know where they live, where they’re from, and the things happening in their community. So that got brought out in filming. Also, it kind of piqued a few people that never thought about photography or filmmaking. And we’re all still friends. Great friends. Everybody that was in this film. Some of them are really thinking very hard about learning the craft of filmmaking. Okay. I’ve done my job. One was a friend of Billy’s, then he told some friends of his. It just kind of snowballed and people How long did it take for you to do the film?
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One day. We filmed from sunrise to sunset. Twelve hours or more. Billy had an idea and my only input into what he was doing was “you gotta have a storyboard man.” You can’t just willy-nilly this thing. You’ve got to have a plan. The plan’s got to go from A to Z and we must follow it, or things are going to get confused, and we’ll forget stuff. I’m not Mr. Hollywood ,or Spike Lee, or anybody. But when I was in Europe I worked in film and video production, so I kind of have a working man’s knowledge of it. And yeah, he did. He made a storyboard. He went scene by scene with it. Billy draws stick figures so I was like “who’s who here? Because everybody looks the same.” But we figured it out. Something that I have planned in the future is with my mother, who’s an understudy of CSW. She’s a master of social work. And what I want to do is get sponsorship on GoFundMe, or something like that, to get some basic point and shoot digital cameras. I just want to get ten or twenty kids, and teach them the basics of photography. And give them the camera for, like, a month.. Just tell them to go and shoot whatever they want.
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JESUS MARTINEZ PHOTOGRAPHY
WRITTEN BY JAIME BAILEY
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Jesus Martinez now lives in the Harrisburg area and works as a local photographer. In the thirteen years he’s been an area resident, he only started professionally in 2007. He commented on the major differences between Harrisburg and Los Angeles. He said “Los Angeles is a newer city” and he noted that the architecture in Harrisburg is beautiful and he can appreciate it’s structural history. One of the reasons why he likes Harrisburg more than L.A. is because “It’s easier to talk to people here”. He told me that most people in L.A. are unapproachable.
J M Having no formal training, Martinez is self taught through a variety of e-books and trial and error experiences. He has taken over 100,000 photos. Martinez mainly takes photos of people, landscapes and events. We asked him how he captures such wonderful images of people. “Sometimes you just see people walking around like zombies in their own world or you’ll see people who are actually having fun at the same time, and you just start people watching. You just watch them and do street photography because that gets you going. In a very small space, you can see one thousand things all in a matter of an hour. Since he had first started taking pictures, Martinez has had much success and has taken photos for many different publications and events such as: Mode Magazine, harrisburgpa.com, The Art Association of Harrisburg, gallery@second, 3rd Street Studio, and The DOSHI Gallery, just to name a few.
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"You can shoot anything, if it's something that interests you, go for it." When asked for advice to people who are just starting out on their own, he advises: “It’s always a good idea to join a camera club and to surround yourself with people who can give you information on how to shoot. You can shoot anything, if it’s something that interests you, go for it. One thing that I learned early on is that it’s not about the gear. You don’t have to spend a lot of time and money on buying an 8,000 dollar camera to start taking photos. You can get a cheap point-and-shoot, as long as you go out there and make the shots. Having an SLR (single lens reflex) camera does help, because it opens up the options of how to make a good photo. A basic, entry SLR that shoots manual will change the way you photograph things. Getting people out of the habit of shooting in auto, where the camera is taking the photo is an important thing because you are not actually taking the photo, the camera is.”
His advice to newbies: “Just get out there and shoot. You won’t find things to photograph unless you go out there and look. I’ll walk around for a while and scope things out. Knowing how to read the light is a big thing too. Finding the right perspective can make an interesting shot.”
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RETAIL LOCATIONS FOR ONLY HARRISBURG MAGAZINE 1. MIDTOWN SCHOLAR BOOKSTORE 1302 N 3rd St, Harrisburg, PA 17102 2. MIDTOWN CINEMA 250 Reily St, Harrisburg, PA 17102 3. JOSHUA MARKET AT BROAD STREET MARKET 1233 N 3rd St, Harrisburg PA 17102 4. POLISH VEGETARIAN DELI 1233 N 3rd St, Harrisburg PA 17102 6. METROPOLIS GALLERY 17 West Main St, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 7. LITTLE AMPS COFFEE ROASTERS 1836 Green St, Harrisburg, PA 17102 8. STARTUP HBG 1519 N 3rd St, Harrisburg, PA 17102 9. HARRISBURG AREA COMMUNITY COLLEGE (LIBRARY) 1500 North 3rd St, Harrisburg, PA 17102 10. HARRISBURG DOWNTOWN IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT 22 N 2rd St, Harrisburg, PA 17101 11. CIAO! BAKERY 304 Chestnut St, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17101 12. Midtown Soul 908 N 3rd St, Harrisburg, PA 17102 13. MakeSpace Gallery 1916 N 3rd St, Harrisburg, PA 17102 14. LGBT Center (only on 3rd in the Burg) 1306 N. 3rd St, Harrisburg, PA 17102
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